Transparent TaskBar

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Quick Specs

Editors' Review

Though lacking in extras, this freeware quickly changes the transparency level of your Windows Taskbar.

Transparent TaskBar's miniscule interface makes it easy to adjust the transparency level of your Taskbar through a slider. At first glance it left us puzzled about how the program works, and we had to dig into the program's folder to read the included documentation. Also, right-clicking the interface brings up a pop-up menu that contains a few presets for adjust the Taskbar transparency. In our tests, transparency changes took immediate effect, and adjusting the slider to the highest level of transparency made our Taskbar fully invisible.

The program worked well, and even closing the program or restarting our computer didn't remove the transparency effect. However, the general lack of other features lessens its appeal. Over all, this freeware is easy to use and will satisfy any user who is looking for basic transparency features.

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Publisher's Description

Transparent TaskBar allows you to adjust easily adjust your taskbar's transparency level for free. The adjustment is in real time, allowing you to watch your taskbar change transparently as you slide your mouse up and down the transparency scale. No need to reconfigure your transparency setting every time you reboot. Transparent TaskBar will remember your settings, and automatically re apply them when you restart (optional).

Minimalistic design. Easy to navigate UI. Remembers settings even upon exit of program. Bug free. Works flawless on XP or Vista.

Cons

None at all.

Summary

Just because an application isn't "feature rich" doesn't mean it isn't a great piece of software. The point of the application is NOT to make your taskbar entirely transparent, to add a dash of transparency just to please the eye. Every free transparency apps for taskbars that I have used dim everything, even Nvidia's software! Nvidia's software was buggy too and this isn't. Quit expecting so much for free people. This software is more than sufficient for what it does, and does not deserve to be trashed like you have trashed it. And if you want to hide the slider, right click on it and hit "exit." Since it tweaks explorer.exe, exiting the program will not lose your transparency settings. So quit complaining that their is no way to minimize or hide it... it doesn't need those features! In summary, this is a great piece of underrated freeware that does as advertised.

Didn't really blend with the XP environment
Why not put the controller in the system tray?

Summary

Overall, this program is lackluster in performance, dropping a transparent mask over all the elements in the taskbar instead of really getting creative and maybe recognizing things like WMP mini-mode and not masking them. Also, the fact that it always remains as that box prompted me to immediately uninstall; I highly value order and desktop real estate, to the point that I refuse to use sidebars, widgets, docks that don't hide well, etc.

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